Page:The Present State and Prospects of the Port Phillip District of New South Wales.djvu/79



natural wish of every man is to establish himself in some place which he can call his own, where he can feel that in gathering round him civilization and comfort he is not throwing his money away, but is improving a property which he may leave to his children after him; and it certainly is much to be regretted that he must sacrifice this feeling if he wish to engage in sheepfarming, which is the most profitable business in the colony. For I conceive that it is a piece of very doubtful wisdom for a man who is not thoroughly acquainted with the thing himself, to leave his station in the hands of an overseer. There is no place where good or bad management tells more decidedly than on an Australian sheep station; and we know from authority that "the eye of the master maketh the beast fat." A man who thoroughly understands sheep, and who lives within a moderate distance of his station, may indeed keep it under proper control, as he can visit it constantly, and see in a very short time whether things are going right or wrong; but even this is not as satisfactory as living on the spot; it also takes a man constantly from home, and the surveillance is a laborious